South Australia

The most famous wine area of Australia, which is found
in the neighboring area of the wine city Adelaide, is renowned for its red wines
and here it is being produced more than the half of all Australian wine

One of the wine producing countries of the world which was capable of
transforming its enological production, from low quality and ordinary wines to
high quality wines, certainly is Australia. This enological miracle was
possible thanks to the huge economic investments done by producers as well as to
the introduction and development of modern technologies. Most of the wineries
make use of very advanced technological tools and benefit from the help of wine
makers capable of applying modern techniques. Whereas in other wine countries -
in particular the ones in Europe - the traditional factor seems to play a
fundamental role in the production of wine, most of the times limiting and
conditioning the development, in Australia, thanks to the recent enological
history of the country, technology and innovation practically have no obstacles.
Even the common practices done in the vineyards are conducted in an automatized
way, from pruning to harvesting. This probably explains the reason why good
quality Australian wines have a pretty affordable price.

South Australia

Until the half of the last century, Australian wine was pretty ordinary and with
no particular value, they usually were sweet or very alcoholic wines, most of
the grapes were used for the production of fortified wines. The revolution of
Australian wines began in the 1960's when the wine industry of the country
strongly concentrated in the quality of its products by relying this radical
change to international grapes and in particular to Shiraz (Syrah), Chardonnay
and Sémillon. Around the half of the 1980's Australia already reached most of
its goal and its new wines became famous all over the world. What mainly
impressed of Australian wines were its concentrated and full bodied reds as well
as whites produced with Chardonnay and Sémillon. In just a little more than
twenty years Australia was capable of transforming its wine industry while
abandoning a practically anonymous past and therefore occupying relevant
positions in the worldwide scenario.

The first vineyards in Australia were planted in New South Wales at the end of
eighteenth century, however the enological development of the country was
concentrated in the South Australia area along the coast of Indian ocean. This
area is located in the neighboring of Adelaide - considered as the capital city
of Australia - and here are found among the most famous wine areas of the
country: Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Adelaide Hills, McLaren
Vale, Padthaway and Coonawarra. Of course they are not the only wine areas of
the country and South Australia is not the only region in which wine is being
produced, however it is right here more than the half of the Australian wine is
being produced.

Classification of South Australia

Australia does not have a quality system based on specific laws, as in case of
France and Italy. There are no strict indications on cultural and enological
practices to be followed, such as the variety of grapes allowed in a specific
region, yields, norms for wine making and minimum aging times. The Australian
quality system provides specific norms about the labeling of wines, norms which
are, of course, in force in South Australia as well. Among the most
significative rules about wine labeling are mentioned: in case a grape variety
is stated in the label, the wine must be produced with at least 85% of that
grape; in case a wine is a blend of two wines and none of them make the 85% of
total, both the names of grapes must be mentioned in the label and in order of
importance; blended wines must state the percentages of grapes used in the
blend; in case an area, district or region is mentioned in the label, 85% of
the wine contained in the bottle must come from the stated area.

Production Areas

Despite the fact South Australia is pretty vast, the area in which it is being
produced wine is pretty small and is located in the southern part, in the
neighboring of the ocean coast near the city of Adelaide. For this reason
Adelaide is considered as the wine capital city of Australia and not very far
from it are found the important wine areas of Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and
McLaren Valley. Southern Australia is mainly famous for its full bodied red
wines produced with Shiraz grapes, moreover the production of white wines made
of Chardonnay, Riesling and Sémillon grapes is interesting as well. South from
Adelaide is located another area of enological interest, Coonawarra, which is
recently getting more and more famous in the world for its Cabernet Sauvignon
wines. Of all the wine areas in Southern Australia two are particularly known
and identify Australian wine in the world: Barossa Valley and Coonawarra.
Barossa Valley is mainly known for its full bodied red wines made of Shiraz
grape whereas Coonawarra is considered as the best Australian region for
Cabernet Sauvignon. The quality of wines made in this region is very interesting
and of good value, however here it is also produced a huge quantity of
ordinary and cheap wines, in particular in the vineyards along the course of
Murray river.

Barossa Valley

The center of the Australian wine production is found in Barossa Valley. This
certainly is the most renowned wine area of the region as well as of the
country, by many considered the best wine region of Australia. Barossa Valley is
located 60 kilometers north-east from Adelaide (about 40 miles), its climate
generally is warm and dry, however the area also benefits from the hills located
to the east capable of ensuring a pretty cool climate and suited for
viticulture. The main white berried grapes cultivated in this region are
Chardonnay, generally vinified in American oak barriques, just like Shiraz,
Riesling and Sémillon. To these are also included Palomino and Pedro Ximénez
used for the production of fortified wines, a wine style belonging to the
tradition and to the history of Barossa Valley. The most famous wines of this
area are red and mainly produced with Shiraz grape. Other red berried grapes
cultivated in Barossa Valley and occasionally used together with Shiraz, are
Grenache Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre, here known as Mataro.

Clare Valley

Clare Valley is located north from Barossa Valley, is characterized by a cooler
climate and therefore suited for the production of white wines, in particular
with Riesling grapes. Clare Valley certainly is one of the wine regions from
which are being produced among the best Rieslings of the world, wines capable to
even compete with the elegance and finesse of German ones although having their
own personality. As opposed to German Rieslings, the ones produced in Clare
Valley have a fuller body, lesser acidity and am interesting range of
organoleptic qualities, both aromatic and gustatory, which gives them a specific
and typical personality. Just like every quality Riesling wine, even the ones
from Clare Valley have an interesting potentiality of aging in bottle which can
also be more than 20 years. Quality wines from Riesling grape produced in this
area should be consumed at least after 5 years of aging in bottle. The Riesling
is known in this area as Rhine Riesling and it should be observed that
once the grape Crouchen, from which were being produced ordinary wines, was
called Clare Rhine Riesling and, of course, has no connection with real
Riesling.

Southern Vales and McLaren Vale

The wine region of Southern Vales is located south from the city of Adelaide and
includes some districts of which the most famous one is McLaren Vale. In this
region are being produced both white wines and red wines and the main white
berried grapes are Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. Among red berried
grapes there are Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Grenache Noir. In this region
are also cultivated Palomino, Pedro Ximénez and Sémillon as well as Pinot Noir
and Merlot. The main red wines of Southern Vales certainly are the ones produced
with Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. The region is particularly known for its
main district, McLaren Vale, who made this region famous all over the world
thanks to its white wines produced with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. In the
south-eastern part of Southern Vales is located the Longhorne Creek wine area
from which comes huge quantities of grapes used for the production of blended
wines.

Eden Valley

The wine area of Eden Valley is located east from Barossa Valley and north-east
from the city of Adelaide. It is a pretty interesting area and here are being
produced both white and red wines. Eden Valley is considered, after Clare
Valley, the second great wine area in which are being produced white wines with
Riesling grape. Differently from Clare Valley, this area is located at a higher
altitude and it is characterized by a cooler climate, a condition which makes
the area interesting for the production of red wines from Pinot Noir and white
wines from Chardonnay. Riesling wines produced in Eden Valley are generally
characterized by a lower alcohol percentage as well as having an aromatic
bouquet resembling flowers instead of fruits, as in the case of Clare Valley.
Even quality Riesling produced in this area are very suited for the aging in
bottle, a condition which enriches them with toasted aromas.

Adelaide Hills

East from the city of Adelaide, and south from Eden Valley, is located the wine
area of Adelaide Hills, a pretty interesting area which mainly owes the quality
of its wines to the hillside position. The development of this area is pretty
recent and most of vineyards were planted in 1980's and 1990's. Adelaide Hills
is among the coolest areas in Australia and here acidity of grapes reach pretty
high levels and most of the times producers favor malolactic fermentation in
order to smooth their white wines. Thanks to its cool climate, Adelaide Hills is
pretty suited to the production of sparkling wines as well as white wines
produced with Sauvignon Blanc. The area is however very appreciated for its
white wines produced with Chardonnay and Merlot red wines seem to be pretty
promising.

Coonawarra

The wine area of Coonawarra - meaning honeysuckle in Aboriginal language
- is located about 450 kilometers south-east from Adelaide (about 280 miles),
near the region of Victoria. This area is mainly famous for its full bodied and
rich Cabernet Sauvignon wines and the best vineyards are planted in a narrow
strip of territory about 16 kilometers long (10 miles). The main characteristic
of this tiny area is represented by the type of soil of limestone origins where
in its surface is found a porous and reddish soil called terra rossa. The
success of Coonawarra wines it is not only determined by the type of soil but
also by its cool climate. The most famous wines of the area are reds produced
with Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Among red berried grapes cultivated in
Coonawarra are also found small quantities of Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet
Franc. The most famous white berried grape is Riesling, however here are also
cultivated Chardonnay - with which are being produced the most appreciated wines
of the area - Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc.

Padthaway

Not far to the north from Coonawarra is located the small wine area of
Padthaway, an area that has become successful just after Coonawarra and which is
famous for its white wines. The main white berried grapes of this area are
Riesling, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer, whereas the most common red berried
grape is Shiraz. The area is mainly oriented to the production of white wines
and it is particularly famous for its Chardonnay wines. The climate of Padthaway
is slightly warmer than Coonawarra and pretty suited to the production of white
wines. Chardonnay wines from Padthaway are characterized by good acidity with a
fruity and fresh bouquet.

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